Oil Spills

Out of all of these ways, oil spills can cause a noticeably excessive amount of damage to the ocean. Although only 12% of the oil entering the sea is caused by spills, they can deteriorate ocean life and environment more than any other pollution. One gallon of used oil spilled into the ocean, which contains toxic chemicals and heavy metals severely dangerous to the micro-organism at the base of the food chain, can cause an eight-acre layer

Regardless of their attempt, the spread of the oil to the surface and shore of the ocean was inevitable. Therefore, all marine animals were affected by the oil contamination in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil filled the blowholes and entered the lungs of dolphins and whales. This made breathing almost impossible.

Throughout history, humans have had many adverse effects on the ocean. However, in the past century, a new threat to the ocean has arisen. Oils spills are one of the most dangerous human effects on the ocean, partly because they’re so difficult to reverse after they’ve happened, and because many of the chemicals that get released into the water are extremely toxic to a lot of creatures. Oil spills are usually caused by two ships colliding with each other, a ship colliding with another object, or as in the case of the BP oil spill, an explosion.

The oil and refined products are a mixture of various hydrocarbons and other compounds whose physical and chemical properties vary; during an oil spill, the composite determines the behavior and impact on the environmental elements such as physical, biological, ecosystem, and the economical impact. During this Case Study I will continue to discuss the characteristics of each affected ecosystem including organisms commonly found in the Deepwater Horizon Spill affected area, potential threats based on their relative location to the spill, and the economic impact of damages in these communities.

Besides that, these tiny oil particles can be degraded more quickly by bacteria presence in the ocean and wash away from spill site by ocean waves3. It was about 2 million galons1 of dispersants was used to prevent the oil slicks to clear up the surface water contaminated. The dispersant chemical helped to clear the slicks out of vision however it somewhat distributed negative impact to the ecosystem from potential harm wildlife to food chain. The tiny oil droplets either suspended in the water or fall down to the bottom of the ocean floor. Therefore, bottom sediment samples were collected to analyze for the remaining of crude oil and the main active compound of dispersant which are the anionic sufactant dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate

The worst environmental disaster America ever faced is the Gulf oil spill which released an approximately of 171 million gallons of oil. Scientists estimate that approximately half of all the oil and nearly 100 percent of the methane gas released from the well stayed within the deep ocean. Estimates of the amount of oil spilling into the Gulf climbed steadily between April and June. The first estimate was 1,000 barrels a day. As of mid-June, that estimate had reached between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels a day. The resulting oil slick covered more than 2,500 square miles, but had largely dissolute by August. It’s estimated that a total of 4.9 million barrels of oil, or 205.8 gallons, leaked from the well of which only 800,000 barrels have been

Wildlife is affected by oil spills in many ways and the severity of the impact is correlated with how much oil was released into the environment, the type of oil, the season and the weather, and tidal energy occurring in the environment of the spill, (NOAA, Effects of Oil Spills on Wildlife and Habitat: Alaska Region, 2004). The Exxon Valdez oil spill had a numerous amount of impacts on wildlife habitat and marine systems. The oil caused harm to wildlife through physical contact, ingestion, inhalation and absorption. The oil contaminated plankton such as algae, fish eggs and larvae of various invertebrates, (NOAA, Effects of Oil Spills on Wildlife and Habitat: Alaska Region, 2004). Contamination through these variables occurred to fish that rely on these organisms to survive, and larger animals in the food chain that rely on fish that eat these organisms such as bigger fish, birds and terrestrial mammals, and even humans became contaminated through ingestion of these animals, (NOAA, Effects of Oil Spills on Wildlife and Habitat: Alaska Region, 2004). Fish were impacted directly through the uptake of oil through the gills, which changed their heart rate, eroded their fins, and affected their eggs. As stated above, it only becomes worse due to other mammals consuming the already contaminated

This oil causes harm to the gulf ecosystem. As earlier showed by the numbers of wildlife that were deceased. In addition to the wildlife immediately dying, the oil can have

Oil spills are no uncommon occurrence with nearly 14,000 oil spill’s yearly causing water pollution as a consequence of many companies not knowing how to properly dispose of oil along with citizens not knowing proper procedures,one of the largest happened in 1989 when an Exxon Valdez oil tanker tipped over into the ocean.

2005). It’s a sticky substance, when it gets on something it acts like a glue. With such a massive concentration of oil, which was about 11 million gallons of oil, it had a huge effect on marine life and plants. Oil has herbicides, which are chemicals that kill plants and when they’re exposed to such a huge amount of it, it can affect a big area of plants on the shoreline and underwater. Oil has lower density than water, it will float when it’s mixed with it. It blocks sunlight and air from reaching the underwater pants. It does not allow plants to photosynthesize. Without photosynthesis, plants aren’t able grow or get oxygen so they will end up dying (Effect of oil spills on aquatic plants 2014). Oil affects the way most marine animals breathe and grow and can leave a sub lethal effect on them without killing them (How does oil impact marine life? 2014). Such a chemical like oil affects the way on how birds and marine life do in cold water like keeping a certain temperature. The study of chemical risks, or toxicology shows that without this ability to maintain a certain temperature they will die from hyperthermia. Oil is like a poison to marine life, and if it doesn’t kill the animal it leaves long lasting effects on them. With the huge dose most of these animals took of the oil, it led to a lot of deaths. This oil spill showed a lot of persistence because even after 30 years, the water was still contaminated with

During use, new oil picks up toxic chemicals, carcinogenic hydrocarbons, and heavy metals which harm the environment and public health when used oil is disposed of improperly. One pint of oil can produce a slick covering approximately one acre of water. Used oil in waterways threatens fish, waterfowl, insects and aquatic life. In salt water, oil kills the microscopic plankton and algae that form the base of the marine food web. Very small amounts of oil spilled in the habitat of fish and shellfish can contaminate their flavor. Used oil seeps through landfills and soils to contaminate groundwater supplies. One quart of oil can foul the taste and purity of 250,000 gallons of water. Used oil applied to roads as a dust suppressant causes water

BP oil leakage was noted that tons of crude oil was spilled into the open ocean, destroying the habitats that marine animals lived on. The environmental loss was significant. The impacts include the contamination of the coast, the ocean surface and the sea floor. The species that were affected include fish, seaware, planktons, birds, turtles, sharks, marine mammals such as whales. The impact was a long-term destroying to both the ocean and human, but one thing to be clear is that different area of Gulf coast have very different levels of contamination.

Problem Statement- Oil Spills are unfortunately a common and traumatic occurrence when drilling for oil in the ocean. Oil is a fossil fuel used to provide energy. It is drilled from our oceans, and when a mistake happens it results in oil spills such as the Gulf Shores Oil Spill.

Undersea life there tends to grow slowly, so that subtle effects on reproduction may take time to become apparent. Submersibles in the area of the spill detected an enormous undersea plume of oil 3,600 to 4,300 feet deep and hundreds of miles long. Oxygen levels plummeted inside the plume, suggesting that ocean microbes were consuming the components of the oil. These oil-eating microbes occur naturally in the gulf and as much as 3,000 barrels of oil per day seep naturally from the ocean floor, making oil a part of the environment. Communities of tube worms have grown around the oil seeps, showing that some sea life has adapted to the oil. However, the oil remains poisonous to much undersea life, with deep corals being particularly vulnerable. Deep-sea animal life is adapted to a stable environment and is not suited to rapid changes of temperature and chemical composition. Microbes are more flexible, and are critical to the chemical balance of the atmosphere, consuming carbon dioxide, methane, propane, and heavy oil components (Harvard Gazette). These microbes are distributed widely in the gulf and can reproduce rapidly when they come into contact with oil.

To date, the majority of oil spill operations are rarely capable of recovering and/or treating more than a small portion of the oil which was spilt.12 Within the Gulf of Mexico it was estimated that nearly 4.9 billion barrels of oil were spilt, and approximately half of the oil spilt was 100% methane which and is still within the Gulf today.12 The oil was able to rise to the ocean surface and extended over an estimated 68,000 square miles—this is approximately the same size as the state of Oklahoma.12 Considering the amount of oil spilt, there has been and continues to be a huge impact on marine life, wildlife and their ecosystems, as well as the fishing and tourism industries.